Line Up completed - Press Release
10 03 2008
Line up completed for award winning environmentally friendly festival
Acclaimed Leicester music festival The Big Session has confirmed the full bill at this year’s event.
The festival – held at De Montfort Hall and Gardens from June 13th-15th – will be headlined by Oysterband (Friday), country-rock legend Steve Earle and the Mercury prize nominated Seth Lakeman (Saturday) and folk/big band crossover collective Bellowhead (Sunday). The bill also features Kila, The Blockheads, The Handsome Family, Lau, Cara Dillon, Devon Sproule, Allison Moorer, Vincent Vincent and The Villains, Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit, The Troubadours, Paul Curreri, John Smith, Emily Barker, Hey Negrita, McDermott’s 2 Hours, The Blue Blokes 3, Ruth Notman and The Wallbirds.
Oysterband, who set up The Big Session in 2005 with Coda & DMH, will make a second appearance at this year’s festival when they play a rare Ceilidh set on Saturday evening.
Now in its fourth year, The Big Session Festival has been heralded by fans and critics alike as one of the UK’s finest boutique festivals. Three sold-out festivals provide evidence of the event’s popularity with the public, while critical acclaim has included one win (A Greener Festival Award) and two nominations (Best Family Friendly Festival and Best Small Festival) at 2007’s UK Festival Awards.
The Big Session Festival prides itself on its welcoming atmosphere and environmentally friendly organisation – indeed, it was one of only ten festivals to be awarded the Red Kite mark in recognition of its environmental planning.
The Big Session Festival recycles plastic, paper, cardboard and glass and ensures that all food traders and bars use compostable cups, plates and pint glasses. All of the paper used by the festival’s office is recycled. The location of the festival is on one city centre site near to both the train station and coach stops, therefore minimalising the number of attendees who arrive by car.
A number of new initiatives are planned for this year’s event including the collection of compostable food waste and of used vegetable oil from the food vendors. It is also hoped that bio-diesel generators will be used to supply the eco-tariff supply provided by the local council.
Another new green initiative also has benefits outside of the festival. The festival will offset its carbon emissions by giving attendees energy saving light bulbs which they pledge to use at home. Over the course of its lifetime each bulb saves sufficient carbon to mean that just fifty bulbs would offset all of the festival’s twenty-five tons of emissions. It is hoped that in excess of a thousand people will participate in the scheme.
The Big Session Festival also plans to involve a selection of charities with this year’s activities, details of which are in the process of being confirmed. Similarly, there are plans to provide Fairtrade and ethically produced products as well as offering an organic food option where possible.
Tickets for The Big Session Festival are available now from the box office number 0116 233 3111 or online at https://kiosk4.ts.com/k?Demontfort&BSF. Weekend tickets are priced at £65 for adults, £20 for children and £5 for camping. Day tickets cost £25 for Friday and £35 for Saturday, with concessions available for children, young people and people with disabilities.
www.myspace.com/thebigsessionfestival
For further press enquiries, please contact Rob Kerford at Sonic PR on 01706 853554 or rob@sonicpr.co.uk
